Tongs are a utensil often used in food preparation and/or serving to handle hot food items, especially during or after grilling or barbecuing, baking, frying, and the like. Often a utensil, such as a basting brush, is also used especially during barbecuing of meats or other items, or for coating and/or glazing of baked goods, such as rolls, muffins, pastries, and the like, or of fried goods, such as donuts, egg rolls, shrimp, chicken, and the like. Other utensils commonly used during food preparation can include knife-edged utensils for cutting into an item during cooking to determine if it is cooked to a desired degree.
Often, such cooking, coating and/or glazing, includes handling the food items at high temperatures and/or over open flames, and it is generally desirable to have the required utensils nearby for convenient and safe use. It is also desirable to minimize cost, storage space, and inconvenience associated with cleaning the utensils and cooking area, without compromising safety. For example, while grilling, the working ends of the utensils used to manipulate or coat the food items can get contaminated with grease, sauce and/or marinade. A common method used to prevent this contamination from being transferred to a surface used to support the utensils when not in use, such as a nearby table or a work platform that is part of a grill, or the like, is to let the contaminated end of the utensil hang down from or over the side of the support surface. This is an undesirable solution in that it can open the possibility that the person doing the grilling, or someone else, could inadvertently brush up against the contaminated utensil and stain their clothing, or an animal such as a family pet may wander by and lick the juices from the utensil, thereby contaminating the utensil.
Therefore, there is a need for utensils or a combination of utensils that efficiently reduce or eliminate the problems associated with cooking and/or barbecuing or grilling food items, and provides a safer and more effective way to prepare hot food items.